To the editor:
Another mixed-use development is being built in Greenwood. It will increase the density of the community, increase traffic and student population at the already maxed-out Center Grove Schools.
Regarding the Walker Farms/Walker Commons development in Greenwood, Apollo Developers’ new proposed map shows 98 townhomes, 47 high-end homes, 103 single-family homes and 102 patio homes. We have been advised that the apartments have been canceled and they are making revisions to the plan for the Monday rezoning hearing.
The proposed map also shows they want traffic to be directed into the older quiet neighborhoods. Older families have stayed and young families have moved into these neighborhoods to raise their families because of the low traffic and quietness. We cannot let the cut-throughs happen.
According to the Community & Environmental Defense Services “Make Neighborhood Streets Safer” article, cut-through traffic makes neighborhood streets noisier, more dangerous and increases traffic volume and crime. It also states, that cut-through traffic tends to operate at a higher speed, which causes the driver’s field of vision to narrow. That increases the likelihood of accidents and the severity of injuries. All these could then decrease property value.
Congested roads and rising neighborhood cut-through traffic are a result of poorly managed growth. According to the articles, those who live on dead-end streets enjoy the enhanced quality of life motivating their choice. They get to know their neighbors and interact with them more. People who live on your average residential cut-through streets have the lowest levels of interaction with neighbors.
For this development, a better solution would be building a new road from Smith Valley Road to Main Street without making cut-thru’s in the 3 existing neighborhoods that are affected.
The city and the developer need to work together to find alternatives. Let’s not make a mistake and then regret it like the Yorktown Road cut-through.
The Greenwood Plan Commission hearing for this development is Monday at 7 p.m. at the Greenwood City Center, 300 S. Madison Ave., Greenwood.
Leora Strack
Greenwood
